BRUNSWICK, Maine — The owner of China Rose Buffet on Bath Road closed the restaurant’s doors on April 23 after “extensive” mold was found in a storage room.

Deputy Chief Jeff Emerson of the Brunswick Fire Department said Tuesday that he inspected the restaurant after receiving a call from “a citizen” concerned about visible mold.

“Indeed, we found a number of areas where visible mold was present,” he said. “It was a health concern. Obviously there’s a concern any time you have any amount of contamination and you’re not sure where it is.”

After a mold expert conducted an air quality survey, restaurant manager Andy Zhang on April 23 opted to close the doors voluntarily until the building could be professionally cleaned.

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Zhang said Wednesday that he had tried for several days to clean the mold by hand, but due to dripping water, “it just kept coming back.”

A professional cleaner is working to remove the mold and clean the building, and Zhang hopes to reopen within a week to 10 days.

Zhang’s father, Xuesua Zhang, who owns the building, was not fined, according to Emerson.

Asked whether Brunswick has closed restaurants previously for similar reasons, he said, “We don’t typically find ourselves in these types of situations. But the owner was very helpful. A voluntary closure always makes things easier.”

Andy Zhang said his 10 or 11 employees are not working during the closure.

“For a restaurant, closing for that long is a big hit, but we had to do it,” he said.

The Bath Road establishment has been a popular local eatery since the early 1990s.